Category Archives: Poetry

Cloud Bellies

Cloud Belliessuch a vio­let rit­u­al­some bluer skies­some yel­low­ing cracked sun­above a mad­den­ing­ly green­n­ev­er sleep­ing worldthe lit­tle sheep baa at the fas­tar­riv­ing rain cloudswith over­hang­ing bel­lies if you hate being told to breathe just stand there qui­etlyamid the tum­bling corn stalks and­hay bales stacked in inter­lock­ing patternsPublished on The Laundry Line, August 19, 2025.

Depot

DepotI have no lan­guage but what I learned from shy-bred wom­en­whose whis­pers seem all at once­root­ed in myselfand in a tongue so alien that I can’t deci­pher their warnings.I have no her­itage beyond what I car­ry in my left hand. All of my promise is shack­led to the plat­form railing.The train car­ries my moth­ers away, trailing … 

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smoke season

smoke sea­son­smoke cov­ers us in sum­mer now.no one can breathe properly.we don’t pan­ic, exactly,but there is agrow­ing foreboding.by Augustthe smell is in our houses.it’s in the sheets at night­in our tow­els in the morn­ing. we begin to taste it in our food:smoked oatmeal,grilled milk. but the sun­sets are brilliant,even other-worldly. they reflect all the colors … 

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Iowa in Three Acts

Iowa in Three Acts (July 4, 1996)I.Last week Tommy was down to the hard­ware storewear­ing his mother’s flow­ered, (floured?)dress and car­ry­ing a taxi­der­mied goat that he said­told himthat Christ wasn’t com­ing back. They sent the patrol car down to deal with the dis­rup­tion andChief Johnsontried to make him see sense­but you know Tommy. His Momma’s …

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